GarageBand sound library on Mac: is it safe to delete?

Where it is

What it is

GarageBand comes with software instruments, drum kits, lessons and Apple Loops. Most of that content is not inside the app. It is installed for all users in /Library/Application Support/GarageBand, /Library/Application Support/Logic and /Library/Audio/Apple Loops.

Many Macs have some of this content even if GarageBand was never opened, because the app and a basic set of sounds are often preinstalled. The library grows when you download additional sounds from inside GarageBand or Logic Pro.

Deleting the GarageBand app does not remove these folders, which is why the space often stays used after the app is gone.

How big it gets

A few GB for the basic set, and tens of GB if all available sounds have been downloaded.

How to clear it by hand

1. Decide whether you use GarageBand, Logic Pro or MainStage. If you do, stop here, or remove only sounds you do not need from inside those apps.
2. Run the command below to see how much space the three folders take. It only reads sizes.
3. Open System Settings, choose General, then Storage. If there is a Music Creation row, click its info button and remove the sound library from there.
4. Otherwise, in Finder choose Go, then Go to Folder, enter /Library/Application Support/GarageBand and move its contents to the Trash. Do the same for /Library/Audio/Apple Loops. macOS asks for an administrator password.
5. If you no longer want the app either, move GarageBand from Applications to the Trash.

du -sh "/Library/Application Support/GarageBand" "/Library/Application Support/Logic" "/Library/Audio/Apple Loops" 2>/dev/null

What happens afterwards

GarageBand projects that used the removed instruments or loops open with missing sounds. To get the content back, open GarageBand and choose GarageBand, Sound Library, Download All Available Sounds.

How Diskzy handles it

Diskzy shows these folders and their sizes on the disk map, so you can see whether the sound library is worth removing on your Mac.

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